Some Uncertainties in the Derivation of Rates of Denudation from Thermochronologic Data

Low-temperature thermochronology, such as that provided by apatite fission-track analysis, provides a valuable means of establishing the timing of major denudational events and associated rates of denudation over geological time-scales of 10⁶–10⁸ Ma. Care must be taken, however, in deriving denudation rates from the crustal cooling histories documented by thermochronologic techniques, especially in rapidly eroding terrains, since, in such cases, apparent denudation rates derived from thermochronologic data will usually overestimate true rates if the advective effect of denudation is not included. This is likely to be resolvable where the rate of denudation exceeds 300 m Ma⁻¹ and when the depth of denudation occurring at these rates exceeds several kilometres prior to the sample cooling below the appropriate closure temperature. Because the time at which a sample cools below a particular closure temperature is relatively insensitive to advection, the initiation of denudation can be accurately established, even given uncertainties in the estimation of depths and rates of denudation. Where thermal events originate from a source within or below the lower crust, the cooling through denudation will dominate the low-temperature history of the shallow crust if denudation occurs coevally with the subsurface heating. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solute provenance,transport and denudation in a high arctic glacierized catchment

Recent understanding of chemical weathering in glacierized catchments has been focused on mid-latitude, Alpine catchments; comparable studies from the high latitudes are currently lacking. This paper attempts to address this deficiency by examining solute provenance, transport and denudation in a glacierized catchment at 78°N in the Svalbard High Arctic archipelago. Representative samples of snow, glacier ice, winter proglacial icing and glacier meltwater were obtained from the catchment during spring and summer 1993 and analysed for major ion chemistry. Seasonal variations in the composition of glacier meltwater occur and are influenced by proglacial solute acquisition from the icing at the very start of the melt season, and subsequently by a period of discharge of concentrated snowmelt caused by snowpack elution; weathering within the ice-marginal channels that drain the glacier, particularly carbonation reactions, continues to furnish solute to meltwater when suspended sediment concentrations increase later in the melt season. Partitioning the solute flux into its various components (sea-salt, crustal, aerosol and atmospheric sources) shows that c. 25% of the total flux is sea salt derived, consistent with the maritime location of the glacier, and c. 71% is crustally derived. Estimated chemical denudation, 160 meq m⁻² a⁻¹ sea salt-corrected cation equivalent weathering rate, is somewhat low compared with other studied glacierized catchments (estimates in the range 450–1000 meq m⁻² a⁻¹), which is probably attributable to the relatively short melt season and low specific runoff in the High Arctic. A positive relationship was identified between discharge and CO₂ drawdown owing to carbonation reactions in turbid meltwater. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The rate of denudation of some British lowland landscapes

Developments in dating techniques applicable to the late Tertiary and Quaternary are giving us the ability to date past land surfaces. Where reasonable assumptions about the nature of such past surfaces and their partial preservation may be made, they can be reconstructed. This permits the contouring and measurement of the subsequent dissection, allowing not only calculation of the average rate of erosion over the elapsed time, but also information on the pattern of incision. Two examples where this has been attempted are present; both are dissected till surfaces in eastern England, one of Anglian and the other of Devensian age. The approach quantifies the disparity between the incision of valleys and the general denudational lowering of the surface which characterizes many landscapes. The technique is not only of academic interest, but potentially forms a useful line of approach to the assessment of the safety of the burying toxic wastes. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

张宣地区大白阳金矿床包裹体特征及矿床剥蚀保存

华北克拉通破坏及其成矿事件已引起地学界的广泛关注,其中张宣地区是华北克拉通的重要金矿集中区之一,通过对张宣地区大白阳金矿成矿类型、成矿深度及剥蚀保存的探讨,为区内深部找矿提供了重要的参考依据。文章通过流体包裹体研究对大白阳金矿成矿温度及成矿深度进行计算,利用矿物压力计对矿区周边岩体侵位深度进行估算。流体包裹体研究结果显示大白阳金矿成矿温度160~220℃、盐度w（NaCl_eq）=9%~15%,密度0.78~0.97 g/cm³、压力46.3~104.6 MPa,成矿流体主要属于NaCl-H₂O体系,成矿过程中流体温度和盐度都呈现明显的降低趋势。采用黑云母压力计,针对大白阳金矿周边谷嘴子、杨家营以及前坝口花岗质岩体的侵位深度进行估算,并对大白阳金矿自形成以来的剥蚀保存情况进行了探讨,估算结果显示,谷嘴子岩体（236.0 Ma）成岩深度7.02 km、杨家营岩体（138.6 Ma）成岩深度2.66 km、前坝口岩体（140.2 Ma）成岩深度3.13 km。结合前人的裂变径迹结果,认为张宣地区自中生代以来剥蚀速率为0.022~0.029 km/Ma,剥蚀量为3 km。按照前述成矿压力46.3~104.6 MPa换算,大白阳金矿成矿深度6.93 km,剥蚀量小于矿床成矿深度,说明该矿深部仍具有良好的找矿前景。     

The impact of storm-triggered landslides on sediment dynamics and catchment-wide denudation rates in the southern Central Range of Taiwan following the extreme rainfall event of Typhoon Morakot

Extreme erosion events can produce large short-term sediment fluxes. Such events complicate erosion rates estimated from cosmogenic nuclide concentrations in river sediment by providing sediment with a concentration different from the long-term basin average. We present a detrital ¹⁰Be study in southern Taiwan, with multiple samples obtained in a time sequence bracketing the 2009 Typhoon Morakot, to assess the impact of landslide sediment on ¹⁰Be concentrations (N¹⁰Be) in river sediment. Sediment samples were collected from 13 major basins, two or three times over the last decade, to observe the temporal variation of N¹⁰Be. Landslide inventories with time intervals of 5–6 years were used to quantify sediment flux changes. A negative correlation between N¹⁰Be and landslide areal density indicates dilution of N¹⁰Be by landslide sediment. Denudation rates estimated from the diluted N¹⁰Be can be up to three times higher than the lowest rate derived from the same basins. Observed increases imply that, 3 years after the passage of Typhoon Morakot, fluvial channels still contain a considerable amount of sediment provided by hillslope landslides during the event. However, higher N¹⁰Be in 2016 samples indicate that the contribution from landslide sediment at the sampled grain size has decreased with time. The correlation between changes in N¹⁰Be and landslide area and volume is not strong, likely resulting from the stochastic and complex nature of sediment transport. To simultaneously evaluate the volume of landslide-derived sediment and estimate the background denudation rate, associated with less impulsive sediment supply, we constructed a sediment-mixing model with the time series of N¹⁰Be and landslide inventories. The spatial pattern of background erosion rate in southern Taiwan is consistent with the regional tectonic framework, indicating that the landscape is evolving mainly in response to the tectonic forcing, and this signal is modified, but not obscured by impulsive sediment supply. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Low‐temperature thermochronological database of bedrock in the Japanese Islands

To provide better access to thermochronological data and understand the long‐term denudation history of the Japanese Islands, we compiled a low‐temperature thermochronological dataset of fission‐track (FT) and (U–Th–Sm)/He (He) ages for apatite and zircon in bedrocks. These thermochronometric ages are compiled from 90 literature sources and 1,096 localities, and include 418 apatite FT ages, 851 zircon FT ages, 42 apatite He ages, and 30 zircon He ages. Many FT ages have been reported previously; however, the number of He ages is limited in the Japanese Islands. The compiled data are spatially biased; for instance, more data are reported for the Chubu and Kinki districts and the Pacific coast of the Shikoku Island, whereas less data were available for the Tohoku and Chugoku districts. For better understanding arc‐scale uplift‐denudation history, further thermochronological research in the lesser‐studied regions and more He thermochronometric measurements are desired. This compilation will be updated and provided on the website of the Fission‐Track Research Group in Japan ( http://ftrgj.org/index.html ).     

The Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers in Bangladesh: basin denudation and sedimentation

Every year the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers in Bangladesh transport 316 and 721 million tonnes of sediment, respectively. These high loads of suspended sediment reflect the very high rate of denudation in their drainage basins. The average mechanical denudation rate for the Ganges and Brahmaputra basins together is 365 mm 10³ yr⁻¹. However, the rate is higher in the Brahmaputra Basin than that in the Ganges Basin. Several factors, including mean trunk channel gradient, relief ratio, runoff, basin lithology and recurring earthquakes are responsible for these high denudation rates. Of the total suspended sediment load (i.e. 1037 million tonnes) transported by these rivers, only 525 million tonnes (c. 51% of the total load) are delivered to the coastal area of Bangladesh and the remaining 512 million tonnes are deposited within the lower basin, offsetting the subsidence. Of the deposited load, about 289 million tonnes (about 28% of the total load) are deposited on the floodplains of these rivers. The remaining 223 million tonnes (about 21% of the total load) are deposited within the river channels, resulting in aggradation of the channel bed at an average rate of about 3·9 cm yr⁻¹. Although the Brahmaputra transports a higher sediment load than the Ganges, the channel bed aggradation rate is much higher for the Ganges. This study also documents a wide range of interannual, seasonal and daily variation in suspended sediment transport and water discharge. Interannual variation in sediment deposition within the basin is also suggested. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

地文期与地文期研究

在20世纪初期至中期,地文期研究帮助解决了中国新生代地形发育和地层划分的相对时序难题。由于W.M.Davis侵蚀循环学说适用于追溯作整体抬升的高原的“构造运动、过程和阶段”发育特征,所以,如今地文期研究对取得青藏高原隆起历史证据、寻求云贵高原喀斯特发育历史与高原地文发育各阶段间的对应关系,以及重建新生代早期中国地理环境等重要理论与实践问题都具有重要意义。随着地球科学的发展与科学技术的进步,侵蚀循环在理论和方法上应当作些相应补充和修正:侵蚀期所对应的堆积物———初始冲积、断块抬升区边缘的相关沉积,以及年代学问题等,均需要作进一步的研究。     

Denudation history of the Southeastern Highlands of Australia

The low-relief summit plateaus (high plains) of the Southeastern Highlands are remnants of a widespread peneplain that was initially uplifted in the mid-Cretaceous and reached its current elevation in the Miocene–Pliocene. There are two mutually exclusive scenarios for the origin of the high plains: an uplifted peneplain originally formed by long-term denudation through the Mesozoic and late Paleozoic, contrasting with creation by ～1.5 km of erosion following the mid-Cretaceous uplift (based on fission track data). The hypothesis of a Mesozoic peneplain is consistent with the low relief of the high plains, the ca 200 Ma available to form the peneplain, and the pre-late Mesozoic oxygen-isotope composition of secondary kaolinites in weathering profiles on the high plains. If the ca 30 Ma cooling event recorded by the fission track data is due to ～1.5 km of denudation, then the high plains peneplain formed in the Late Cretaceous–early Paleogene, close to sea-level, and was uplifted in the early Paleogene, because evidence from basalts and fossil floras shows that the high plains surface was moderately elevated in the Eocene. This scenario is difficult to reconcile with the long-term erosion necessary to form such an extensive peneplain, the lack of sedimentary evidence for early Paleogene uplift, and the relatively small reduction in elevation (～250 m) that would have resulted from ～1.5 km of erosion (because the crust in this area is in isostatic equilibrium). Furthermore, extensive Cretaceous–early Paleogene denudation should have removed the pre-late Mesozoic secondary kaolinites present in weathering profiles in the highlands. There is no evidence that the Mesozoic peneplain was buried by kilometres of sediment and then exhumed in the Cretaceous–early Paleogene. I therefore conclude that the high plains of the Southeastern Highlands are the remnants of a Mesozoic peneplain uplifted in the mid-Cretaceous and again in the Miocene–Pliocene.     

利用古温标恢复四川盆地主要构造运动时期的剥蚀量

地层剥蚀量是沉积盆地埋藏史和热史重建中一个关键的参数.本文利用石油钻井的系统古温标(Ro)资料,并结合多种恢复方法,得出四川盆地主要构造运动时期的剥蚀量.研究表明:加里东期,川东南剥蚀量较大,达2000m.东吴运动时期,川西南、川东南等距二叠纪玄武岩喷发区较近地区的剥蚀量较大,分别在260～450 m和800～900m:印支早期盆地整体遭受了抬升剥蚀作用,剥蚀厚度为100～500 m.印支中、晚期龙门山地区褶皱剥蚀,H1、Y1等钻井该时期的地层剥蚀量超过2000 m.燕山期周缘山系的继续隆升造成山前大范围地区的剥蚀:喜山期盆地周缘钻井的剥蚀量较大,在2000 m左右,而早期古隆起上的钻井如GJ、J13、Z12等钻井的地层剥蚀量则较小,在1000 m左右.可见,四川盆地不同地质时期及不同构造区位的剥蚀厚度都不尽相同,这一时空差异反映了构造运动对该区的差异影响.这一研究也表明,以系统的古温标资料(R_o)为基础,针对不同地质情况选用适当的反演方法并结合多种反演方法.能有效地恢复钻井在不同时期的剥蚀量.上述四川盆地各时期剥蚀地层厚度的恢复,对研究该区的构造、沉积和油气演化提供了基础数据.